In the time it took to wonder what the heck could lead to this development, rumors started flying that United had hired Kirby in the same role as he occupied at American.

I was having parallel conversations with two fellow bloggers, Gary Leff and Seth Miller as I was thinking through the situation. Here are some of the observations from my own thinking and those conversations:

I really thought Scott Kirby and Doug Parker (the CEO of AA) were attached at the hip. They’ve been together for 20 years and are finally running the biggest airline. This would seem to be the wrong time to walk away.

The appearance of that relationship, coupled with these moves, is a strong indication that Doug Parker likes his job. He’s likely not going anywhere soon. Scott probably wanted to know where he stood in the succession plan. When he realized that Doug wasn’t leaving, he made plans to go elsewhere. If my math is right, Scott is 49 years old, Doug 55. While both have probably made enough money to comfortably retire, neither seems the type.

I’d be pretty surprised if Scott didn’t have some language in his contract preventing such a move to a competitor like United. That leads me to believe that the relationship between Scott and Doug was amicable enough to negotiate a settlement that included a move to a competitor, or some leverage existed to make it happen.

Universally, I believe all 3 of us said at one point or another today, “Scott was almost definitely promised the top job at United when Oscar leaves.”

As an aviation nerd, I’m insanely interested in what the internal conversations were like at both American and United. I’d be interested to know the path things took at AA. And, I wonder about that conversation between Scott and Oscar Munoz (CEO of United). Was it something like:

Hey, Oscar. Scott Kirby here. Yes, that Scott Kirby. Wondering if we could get together for a coffee to discuss if I could come hang out in Chicago and take your job in a few years? Tomorrow? Sure, I can probably find a flight to Chicago.

Those are all largely things Delta has already done, and things United has said they largely want to do.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what the playbook will look like. I was talking to my best friend, David, a devoted United Global Services member. When he asked me if this was bad for him I replied, “Hope the purchase order for those new Polaris business class seats is signed!”

You May Also Enjoy

Share this Post

About the Author

My goal in life is to fill my family’s passports with stamps, creating buckets of memories along the way. You’ll find me writing about realistic ways for normal people to travel the world, whether you’re on a budget or enjoy luxury. I also enjoy taking us on the occasional detour to explore the inner workings of the travel industry.

3 Comments

Kirby was “transitioned out” of American according to their press release.That means he was told to leave or be fired. Fortunately he got a big fat severance package and will be just fine! The other good news is that he landed at UAL instantly. No down time plus he undoubtedly got another big fat severance package should that be necessary. United could have hired Donald Duck and he would have been an improvement over the incumbent buffoons at UAL. Consequently, the bar for success at United is very low! He will be a rock star. Kirby just hit the lottery 3 x in one day!

Search

In case you missed it, British Airways released information on their brand new business class product this week. The product looks wonderful. Much has been written about British Airways business class by my fellow bloggers and how much they don’t like the current version. I’ve traveled in it many times and actually don’t have an issue with it. That being said, the new product looks lovely. You can see a more in-depth write-up on it on God Save the Points. Now, bear with me for a minute, since I’m […]

25 days after I submitted my request to Marriott to find out how much of my personal information was stolen during their massive data breach, I finally have an answer. Here’s what Marriott had to say: Dear Edward Pizzarello, We are in receipt of your inquiry regarding whether your personal data was involved in the recent Starwood Guest Reservation Database security incident. Based on the information you provided to us, we believe that your information was involved. Following our analysis, we believe that the following information about you was involved […]

Those low-cost carriers always have very appetizing fare sales. Who wouldn’t want to pay $20 to fly somewhere? But, what does $20 really buy you? I found out exactly what Frontier does (and doesn’t) offer customers on my first flight with them recently.

People talk about how bad the traffic is in places like Los Angeles with plenty of adjectives. And, it is quite bad. But, the traffic in DC is what I refer to as “stealthy bad”. It doesn’t get the same press that LA traffic does, but a trip that normally takes an hour can easily turn into a 3-hour ordeal. With visiting dignitaries, protests and construction as variables, weather can also wreak havoc on a system that consistently backs up during rush hour. For those of us that live in […]

As travel has gotten more stressful the benefits of elite status are even more valuable. In some cases, what used to be free for everyone is now only free for those customers that fly most frequently. I value my American Airlines Executive Platinum status more highly than any status I’ve earned, including 1K service with United Airlines. However, Global Services is another matter. For those not aware, Global Services is an invitation-only status level that United bestows on their best customers. What defines a best customer? Well, United doesn’t list […]

I have to admit, I was pretty pleased with the original announcement that American Airlines was creating bundled pricing that included change fees at a lower apparent cost. Things got a little better when American also announced they were expanding the timeframe you could request a same day change to your flight. And, then things started to get a bit screwy. It started with just one flight I couldn’t get to price right with Choice Plus as an add-on. But, then I did a bit more digging and found out […]

Venture Beat doesn’t think so, and I’m not 100% sure they’re wrong. But, before I discuss the article, a little background on why someone allergic to social media like me became a Foursquare nut. A few years ago, a company called TopGuest came up with this concept where you could earn airline miles and hotel points for checking in at various places on Foursquare. I can’t say I thought it was a terribly good business model, but they convinced a bunch of hotel chains to hand out miles for this. […]